Dutch railway company

Formed in 1848 as the Belfast and Ballymena Railway. The railway became known as the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway (BNCR) in 1860. In 1903, it amalgamated with the Midland Railway, administered by the Northern Counties Committee.

Ceylon Government Railways (CGR) was developed in the 1850s to develop and unify Sri Lanka and was built by the British Colonial Government in 1864. The first train ran on 27 December 1864 and the main line between Colombo and Ambepussa officially opened on 2nd October 1865. The railway was initially built to transport tea and coffee to Colombo. Major population growth meant that passenger traffic increased and in the 1960s passenger traffic overtook freight as the main source of revenue. The railway network comprised of nine lines radiating from Colombo and connected many population centres and tourist destinations. Extensions were made to the main line in 1867, 1874, 1885, 1894 and 1924, extending its service to Kandy, Nawalapitiya, Nanu Oya, Bandarawela and Badulla, respectively. Many other railway lines were added to Ceylon Railway System within the first century of its life, such as a line to Matale in 1880, Coast Railway Line in 1895, Northern Line in 1905, Mannar Line in 1914, Kelani Valley in 1919, Puttalam Line in 1926, and Railway Line to Batticaloa and Trincomalee in 1928. Until 1953, Ceylon's railways operated steam locomotives. In the golden era, it enhanced its service by changing to diesel locomotives, under the leadership of Rampala. Various types of diesel locomotives were added to the service. Today the company is known as Sri Lanka Railways as Ceylon gained independence in 1948 and changed its name to Sri Lanka when it became a republic in 1972.

Irish railway, opened in 1877. The railway was taken over by the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway in July 1889.

The London and South Western Railway Company (LSWR) opened their first line in stages in from London to Southampton in 1838 under the name London and Southampton Railway Company. A year later the company name was changed to the LSWR. By the early 1900s, the line had been extended and ran from London to Plymouth via Yeovil, Exeter and Southampton. Some of the branch lines of the LSWR, further into Southern counties, were in direct competition with the Great Western Railway Company and others were worked in partnership with other railway companies such as the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway. Nine Elms in London was the main depot of the LSWR, until Waterloo Station was opened by the company in 1848. Nine Elms became the goods depot for the London and South Western Railway Company and Waterloo became one of the biggest passenger stations in the country. The main LSWR engineering works was transferred from Nine Elms to Eastleigh by 1909. Sir Herbert Walker was General Manager of the London and South Western Railway Company from 1912, when he instituted the third-rail electrification programme, and was appointed General Manager of the Southern Railway Company in 1923, until his retirement in 1937. There were a number of notable engineers attached to the LSWR including John Viret Gooch, brother of Sir Daniel Gooch who was Locomotive Superintendent from 1841 to 1850. Dugald Drummond was the Chief Mechanical Engineer from 1895 to 1912; he facilitated moving the Works from Nine Elms to Eastleigh and their subsequent expansion and modernisation. Alfred Szlumper, appointed Chief Engineer in 1914 was key to the expansion and redesign of Waterloo Station, completed by 1922 The LSWR began electrification of its suburban lines from Waterloo in 1913. The first section was opened in 1915, and almost all the other planned routes were opened before the First World War curtailed the project. The London and South Western Railway Company was very prominent in handling all types of traffic during the First World War, due to it’s position serving London and the ports on the South Coast. The LSWR also had an ocean-going port at Southampton, which was a growing rival to Liverpool and Glasgow for transatlantic travel. The purchase of Southampton docks by the LSWR in 1892, alongside their expansion and modernisation, was organised by Sir Charles Scotter, the General Manager from 1885 to 1898. Scotter then became Chairmen of the Company from 1904 to 1910. The LSWR also ran steamer services from Southampton to the Channel Islands and France. In 1923, the LSWR was grouped into the Southern Railway Company by the Railways Act of 1921.

Irish railway company, incorporated in 1845, becoming the third largest Irish gauge railway company in Ireland. It was absorbed into the Great Southern Railways in 1924.

Iron and steel manufacturers and colliery proprietors, based in Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan. The ironworks was established in 1759. The company became part of British steel in 1967.

1847-1922, railway company, England The title "Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway" was adopted by the Manchester & Leeds Railway in July, 1847 following its absorption of a number of earlier local railways, the largest of which was the Manchester and Leeds Railway. In 1922, Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway amalgamated with London and North Western Railways; the expanded LNWR subsequently formed part of the London and North Western Railway.

Railway in Finland, active from c1880